CLASS 3A FOOTBALL STATE QUARTERFINALS PREVIEW
EAST
JEFFERSON WEST (8-2) AT HAYDEN (10-0)
Hayden and Jefferson West will meet for the second time in four weeks. In the last meeting, the Class 3A District 4 title was on the line and it was all Hayden as the Wildcats cruised to a 42-0 victory. Connor Hanika threw TD passes to three different receivers and Jude Krentz ran for two touchdowns while the Wildcat defense held the Tigers to just 124 yards of total offense.
West has bounced back nicely from that loss, picking up its first postseason wins since 2019, beating Anderson County 45-6 and Prairie View 49-14. Prairie View had suffered just one loss heading into last week’s game and got out to a 14-0 start against the Tigers before West snapped to life.
Brixton Schwinn threw a pair of TD passes in the second quarter to tie the game 14-14 at halftime and then added four touchdown passes in the third quarter, two each to Dalton Foster and Brody Schwinn. Brixton Schwinn finished with 287 yards passing and 6 TDs and now had thrown for 2,101 yards and 29 touchdowns this season as a freshman. Brody Schwinn has 883 yards and 17 receiving TDs while Crayton Holman has 689 yards and 8 TDs receiving.
Hayden continued its dominant season that has seen the Wildcats allow more than a touchdown in just one game this year, a 56-22 win over Holton. Hayden demolished Columbus 70-7 in the postseason opener and last week blanked Wellsville 42-0 in a rematch of last year’s semifinal.
Kade Mitchell scored four touchdowns of 36 yards or more, rushing for 131 yards and two TDs and having another 149 yards and 2 TDs receiving. He’s now got 900 yards and 13 TDs rushing and 410 yards and 5 TDs receiving this year while also having three return TDs. Hanika has thrown for 1,422 yards and 20 TDs with just one interception.
HOLTON (6-4) AT SANTA FE TRAIL (10-0)
After posting its first undefeated regular season since 1994, Santa Fe Trail has continued its run in the postseason, shutting out Girard 28-0 last week after squeaking past Perry-Lecompton in overtime in the opening round. The 10 wins are the most for the Chargers since the 1996 team went 10-2.
Rigley Sleichter keyed the win over Girard, throwing for 103 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for the Chargers’ other score in the game. Sleichter, a sophomore, has been huge all season, rushing for 994 yards and 16 touchdowns and throwing for 850 yards and 13 scores. He also hasn’t turned the ball over once and Trail has only turned it over five times this season.
But in the quarterfinals comes an old nemesis in Holton. Former rivals from the Big Seven League, Santa Fe Trail has lost 11 straight meetings with the Wildcats with the last win coming all the way back in 1975. Trail is 1-17 all-time since 1969 with Holton winning the last four meetings in the playoffs from 2019-22.
Holton had lost three of its last four going into the postseason, but have caught fire the past two weeks. The Wildcats blew past Baldwin 54-12 to start the postseason then fought past one-loss Frontenac last week in a 14-6 defensive slugfest.
Four different backs have rushed for at least 600 yards and 8 touchdowns, led by Korban Wilson (950 yards, 12 TDs) and Andrew Shupe (952 yard, 9 TDs). Alec and Cael Frazier have combined for 1,394 yards and 17 TDs and Holton has attempted just 10 passes all season while rushing for 3,543 yards and 39 TDs as a team.
WEST
PRATT (9-1) AT ANDALE (10-0)
Cheney (twice), Bishop Miege and Pratt.
That’s the trivia answer to the three teams that have defeated Andale in nine seasons under coach Dylan Schmidt, and Pratt will get its fourth chance in four seasons to try to do it again in Friday’s Class 3A quarterfinals.
Pratt edged Andale 21-19 in the 2018 3A semifinals before falling to Sabetha in overtime in the state title game. Since then, Andale has defeated the Greenbacks three times by an average of 34.7 points.
As in most years, it will be a tall order for Pratt as Andale, 3A’s top-ranked team, rides a state-best, 23-game winning streak into the contest. The Indians improved to 10-0 with a 51-6 victory over Clay Center last week. Pratt, meanwhile, won its ninth consecutive game, thumping Hugoton 35-14.
Andale is led by senior quarterback Sam Harp, who has rushed for 1,047 yards and 22 touchdowns while completing 20 of 27 passes for 552 yards and 10 scores. Jack Horsch has added 512 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, and 220 receiving yards and four TDs.
Pratt got a boost last week from the return of sophomore Cade Liggett, who missed the Greenbacks’ postseason opener against Chaparral with an injury. He returned against Hugoton to run for 201 yards and two touchdowns, and has 1,031 rushing yards for the season. Quarterback Creston Pore has accounted for 21 total touchdowns.
CHENEY (7-3) AT ROCK CREEK (10-0)
At no point in this season has Rock Creek’s stout defense come up bigger than last week. With the Mustangs’ potent offense sputtering, the defense came to the rescue and allowed Rock Creek to pull out a 17-13 win over Hesston to stay undefeated.
Trailing 13-7 in the second quarter, Tate Smith hit Jacob Perkins with a 15-yard touchdown strike late in the first half that proved to be the game-winner after the two had earlier hooked up for a 73-yard score. Rock Creek’s defense shut out the Swathers in the second half and Jaxon Pendall’s 31-yard field goal was the lone scoring after halftime for either team.
The win was the closest call for the Mustangs this season with a 21-13 win over Wamego their only other game decided by less than 14 points. Smith has been big for the offense since taking over at quarterback throwing for 1,560 yards and 23 touchdowns with just two picks. Zion Bell has been the consistent ground presence, rushing for 1,431 yards and 20 touchdowns. Two-way lineman Wade Rottinghaus led the defensive effort against Hesston with 4.5 sacks, while Ezra Spiller and Nick Allen have been a huge 1-2 punch at linebacker.
Cheney denied a showdown of unbeatens in the quarterfinals, knocking off previously unbeaten Holcomb 23-20 in overtime last week. The Cardinals had lost to Holcomb 15-13 in the season opener on a late field goal by the Longhorns, but turned the table with Carstyn Flores booting a game-winning field goal in overtime – his third of the game.
Reece Tolar has thrown for 1,488 yards and 16 touchdowns to lead the Cardinal offense. State champion in 2023, Cheney lost in the quarterfinals last year to eventual champion Andale. The two programs last met in the 2019 playoffs with Cheney rolling past Rock Creek 51-18 in the first round.